JANESVILLE, Wisconsin — Michael K. Fitzgerald suffered two painful shots to the body on Jan. 6, 2021, one of which still represents a serious threat to his life more than 45 months later.
The first shot struck him in the leg and neck at the U.S. Capitol — from explosive munitions fired and tossed into the crowd by Metropolitan Police Department officers. At the time, Fitzgerald was quietly capturing video at the police line on the West Plaza.
The second shot came more than 40 minutes later, just after he walked into the Capitol with a large group of protesters.
Something was very wrong inside, as he discovered during more than a half-hour in the restroom. He was bleeding. His undiscovered colon cancer was fully present, but it wouldn’t be diagnosed for nearly a year. By that time it was at stage IV and had spread.
Fitzgerald’s peaceful 39-minute visit inside the Capitol brought federal felony and misdemeanor charges. Despite occasional discussions with Fitzgerald’s attorney about dropping the case, prosecutors have refused to dismiss the charges, even though Fitzgerald’s doctor says his cancer is incurable.
“I know it’s all marching orders from the DOJ, which we all…
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